Draft your own blueprint, Guan Eng told

The chief minister draws flak from BN for dragging his feet over a master development plan for Penang.

GEORGE TOWN: The Pakatan Rakyat government should stop passing the buck to Putrajaya to justify its failure to draft a master development blueprint for Penang, says Barisan Nasional state publicity chief Tan Cheng Liang.

She said the DAP-helmed state government is dragging its feet and behaving abnormally on the issue.

She ticked off Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s administration for not drafting a blueprint of any sort despite ruling the state for more than four years now.

She also criticised the state government for dodging the issue by claiming that it was holding back on the blueprint to be in line with the federal government’s imminent overall development plan.

“This is incredible given that Penang’s future depended heavily on a master development plan for growth and prosperity,” Tan said in response to Lim’s recent statement on the matter.

Last week, Lim said the state government would consider other possibilities if there was no progress on the Greater Penang Transformation Programme (GPTP) announced by the federal government a year ago.

On April 2 last year, Pemandu (Performance Management and Delivery Unit) announced that the federal and state governments would jointly develop GPTP to unlock opportunities within the region.

Penang has been identified as one of three major metropolitan centres. The others are Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru.

Tan said the state government was giving the public the impression that it was waiting for “federal directives” to draft and implement its own blueprint.

She claimed Lim can then blame the BN federal government for being reluctant to develop Penang.

‘Absurd and illogical’
Tan urged the state government to draft its own blueprint instead of relying on the federal government to draw up an overall national policy.

“How can they [state government] say that they will wait for the federal government to take the initiative?

“Is the Penang government willing to accept whatever plan implemented by the federal government?” Tan asked.

She said it was time the state government obtained feedbacks and inputs from others on a blueprint for development.

She urged the Pakatan government not to take anything for granted, but to work earnestly for the economic growth of Penang.

“It is ridiculous that the state government has been keeping quiet over the master development plan all this while.

“It was only when people started questioning about it that they claim they are waiting for the federal government’s big plan before they can do anything.

“Isn’t that absurd and illogical?” asked Tan, the former Jawi assemblyperson.